The relevant prior art rural type mailboxes, as mentioned above, consist of an elongated box-like first receptacle or compartment having a rounded top section and a hinged door which can be opened for receiving and for retrieving mail. They also usually have a pivotal arm assembly consisting of an arm with a flag attached to one end thereof and pivotally attached to its other end to the side of the mail box. The entire flag assembly can be either pivoted to its upright position so that the first flag assembly is visible over the top of the box or pivoted to its downward position so that the flag is not visible over the top of the mailbox. Stops are provided to define the limits of the upright position and the downward position. Conventionally, the homeowner places the flag assembly in its upright position when he places mail in the box for the postman to pick up. The postman picks up the homeowner's mail he finds in the box, leaves any new mail therein and then lowers the flag assembly to its downward position. The entire mailbox assembly is usually mounted on a vertically mounted post near the road. The homeowner is then made aware of the arrival of the postman by noting that the flag is down, which he can often do from a window in his home.
Also, if the homeowner is gone for a day or more and mail accumulates in his mailbox, there is some risk that it will be stolen, especially if there is reason for someone who is aware of the homeowner's absence to believe there might be a check in the homeowner's mail.
A primary object of the invention is to provide an improved rural type mailbox which will advise the homeowner from a distance when the postman has placed mail in his mailbox.
A second object of the invention is to provide an improved rural type mailbox which will have a second compartment to store mail accumulated over a week or more but will still appear to be a quite conventional rural type mailbox, even to the postman.
A third object of the invention is to provide such an improved rural type mailbox in which the stored, accumulated mail is not only not visible to anyone opening the mailbox door but is in fact inaccessible by anyone except the homeowner.
A fourth object of the invention is the improvement of rural type mailboxes generally.
A first primary feature of the present invention is to provide an improved rural type mailbox comprising a first compartment and both a first conventional prior art type flag assembly, partially attached to a first side of the mailbox, and a second pivotal flag assembly attached to the second side of the box other than that to which the first flag assembly is attached and also consisting of an arm pivotally connected to the other side of the mailbox and a flag attached to the other end thereof with the flag assembly having an upright position where the flag is positioned to be visible over the top of the mailbox and a downward position where flag is not visible over the top of said box, and stops to limit the swing of the flag assembly in the upright and downward positions, and with the second flag assembly responsive to the opening of the door to assume its upright position to advise the homeowner that the postman has placed mail in his mailbox and which will remain in an upright position until the homeowner picks up his mail and then manually places the second flag assembly in its downward position, and means for disabling the second flag assembly.
A second primary feature of the invention consists of a second compartment positioned directly underneath the first compartment and separated therefrom by an openable two section partition with the first and second sections of the partition being secured by hinges to the opposite inner sidewalls of the bottom of the first compartment longitudinally along the length of the first compartment and responsive to the door being opened to assume their raised positions where they form a continuous flat, horizontal bottom to the first compartment and responsive to the door being closed to assume their open or downward position to completely open up the bottom of the first compartment to allow any mail that was placed therein to drop into the second compartment and a lockable access door at the rear of the lower compartment to allow the homeowner to retrieve his mail.
A third feature of the invention consists of means for the homeowner to lock the first and second sections together in their raised position while he is at home every day and can pick up his mail daily.
A fourth feature of the invention is the combination of the aforementioned first, second, and third features to enable the homeowner to enable his mailbox to function as a conventional rural type mailbox while he is at home with the additional advantage of having the second flag assembly advise him when the mailman has left mail in the mailbox and to enable his mailbox to appear to function exactly as a conventional rural type mailbox does (with the second flag assembly disabled) when he is away from home, but with the daily mail in fact actually accumulating in the lower compartment.